T - strong fruity character up front both from hops and yeast, not much depth, slight bitterness but not as much as expected for the style

M - medium-light body with moderate to high carbonation

D - This is a decent enough beer but lacks some hop bitterness on the finish. It's very much on the light side of the style and all the hop and yeast fruitiness up front leaves you hanging for a decent finish. I don't think I'll be seeking this one out, but wouldn't turn it down if someone bought me one.

(12 oz. bottle into shaker) Part of my Beer of the Month club and a surprisingly great brew. I am usually not a fan of the over hopped ales you tend to get, but this one was very well balanced. Poured a beautiful dark amber/copper color with a finger of creamy white head. Aroma of slight citrus and spice as well as a hint of a sweetness. very smooth in the mouth with a lively carbonation allowing the hops to pop on the tongue. The bitterness was not overpowering and actually cut by a slight caramel sweetness. The balance made for a very refreshing drink, especially as the glass warmed and both flavors developed.

Taste is a little different than what I anticipated. It's well balanced, which is what I expected, however, I didn't anticipate such a forward biquity/malt presence. The malts hit the tongue up front early on before a lemon zing morphs into a bitter citric-like finish and afterwards leaves an almost peppery, slightly metallic finish in the mouth.

Mouthfeel is prickly with some bite and a medium body. The ABV is right in the ballpark for a pale ale making it very drinkable. A nicely brewed pale ale.

poured 12 oz from bottle into a tall pale ale chalice. the color is copper with some dark red notes. it is very hazy with plenty of carbonation. the foam which initially was a good finger and a half sticks around for an impressive amount of time.

the smell is of faint pine but it is subtle so it reminds me of clean laundry. i like it because it's not overwhelming.

the taste follows, but there is a definite bitterness there that isn't quite as subtle as the aroma. still, i like it because it doesn't stretch my comfort zone for bitterness and that's a good thing. i get definite orange and grapefruit hop notes over a nothing special malt profile.

the mouthfeel is just what i want in a pale ale. and being a pale ale i think it is very drinkable--i could imagine enjoying this over the length of a session.

This is a pale ale that leans to the malty side with a good dose of caramel aroma and flavor...the aroma has some fresh floral notes as well....the taste has some nuttiness to it and also a lighter hit of the floral notes...It finishes with a flash of grapefruit peel style bitterness...where did that come from?

Perhaps a little overcarbonated..

I like this. Not big on the hops but a real interesting take on the malt load. Enjoyable.

I got this as part of a BOTMC. A hazy gold in color with a 2 finger white head. The nose is light citrus and grassy. Lemon zest is up front with a lingering bitter finish. Medium in body and highly carbonated. This is a pretty standard APA, nothing really stands out.

Poured into a shaker a cloudy, bright orange, 2 fingers of soft, whipped head. Didn't realize it was bottle-conditioned, so I got lots of tiny, suspended particles. Solid, inviting lacing.

Definitely a hop-forward aroma, with a subdued mix of lemon, grapefruit, tea. Some mild (tea)biscuity malt.

Taste is a nicely balanced mix of toasty malts & citrus hops up front -- I should say, nicely balanced but on the hoppy side. Sweeter citrus in the middle turning to a shortbread-like sweetness. It goes from balanced-hoppiness to balanced-maltiness, like a lightly swaying pendulum. Pepper-like bitterness in the aftertaste.

Has a little bite at first, tempered by soft foam that mellows it out & turns it very smooth. Very good, pleasantly bitter, solid in all aspects. Plenty of "label lit" to read, to boot!

I'm a horrible reviewer...that said, I feel compelled to say a few kind words about this Pale Ale.... Had this at the Iron Works bbq during their happy hour from 2-6 where it was ½ price. $2 for a pint of fine craft beer!

How's this for a review...not as hoppy as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale which I find to be pretty hoppy, but quite a surprisingly flavorful beer nonetheless. I have neglected to try the Choc beers believing that they probably weren't worth my money and I am very pleased to find myself mistaken in that regard.

This was my personal favorite of the four beers that Iron Works had on tap (COOP Amber and Horny Toad and Choc Whit). At $2 a pint I can see a love affair in the works!

With about six inches of snow on the ground here in Chicago, and up to six more to come throughout the rest of the night, it's a good night to stay in and do a beer review. Plus, I've had a six pack of Choc Basement Batch sitting in my fridge for about a week now and this is an excellent excuse to crack it open.

I work with two guys from Tulsa, Oklahoma and my girlfriend's family is from Tahlequah (just outside Tulsa), so after a couple visits for the holidays and a few return trips from the guys I am fairly familiar with Choc. The Basement Batch IPA is probably my favorite out of Choc lineup, but I am sure to appreciate this beer even more after taking the time to review it, so let's get to it:

APPEARANCE: After a slow pour from the 12 oz. bottle into a standard pint glass the beer was a bright gold, almost glowing color. It was a bit cloudy due to a small amount of excess yeast that slipped into the glass despite my attempt to avoid it. The head was thin, but stayed strong throughout the whole glass. Even when cloudy, it was appealing.

SMELL: Before the first sip the aroma was not very strong, but it did seem slightly smoky and hoppy. I noticed as I got further into the glass that the aroma became stronger.

TASTE: The smoky, hoppy flavor that I only slightly smelled hit me hard with the first sip. It surprised me and woke up my taste buds in a good way. After the initial hit of hops and smoke it gave way to a caramel and kind of malty flavor. The smokiness slowly faded from front to back, and ended up lingering just enough at the end to leave me wanting to get to that next sip.

MOUTHFEEL: Much like the surprising burst of flavor, the feel snuck up on me as well. As it hit my tongue it didn't seem like there was much action, carbonation-wise. As it went down, however, the bubbles seemed to come alive and it almost felt like a soda on it's way down.

OVERALL: Although I have tasted this beer a number of times prior to writing this review, it has always been straight out of the bottle. Taking the time to take a whiff of this beer after pouring gave me a chance to be surprised by the taste. It was a very enjoyable experience. That said, this might not be the beer for everyone. It is certainly an IPA with the strong hops, but it is also richer and maltier than most other IPAs. Don't ever give this beer to someone to introduce them to the style, but definitely give it to a seasoned IPA veteran who is looking for something unique, different and tasty.

Pours a fairly clear amber coler with a resonable head. Bottle warns about bottle condition beers be hazy but I never have had a problem with this one. Nose is some what malt with a bit of hops comeing through. Inital taste is moe malty but finsihes up with a light citrus coming through due to the hops.

All in all a decent beer, good for drinkability. Always good to be able to get fresh beer.

Pours a clear amber color with one inch of white head that settles to a thin cap. Moderate amount of sticky lacing is left on the glass. Strong malty aroma. Caramel malts mostly but also a touch of grahm cracker. Some citrus from hops and a touch of diacytl. Mostly malt in the flavor. Caramel, nutty, and bready flavor. Just a hint of citrus from the hops. Bitterness is on the low side of APA's. Thankfully no sign of diacytl in the flavor. Nice body and carbonation. Good smooth texture. Somewhat forgettable APA. Could use some more hop flavor and bitterness to make this stand out.

S/T - caramel malt and some nuttyness w/ slight floral and citrus hops. i also get a bit of honey, but more in the nose than on the tongue. this is not a bad brew, flavor-wise. Not a ton of flavor, but enough to make it pretty sessionable. i personally could go for a bit more hops, however i enjoy the unfiltered state of this beer, and the malt backround provides a nice base for what is a pretty decent beer.

A: Pours a hazy orange color. A two finger white head forms. Some nice sticky lace is left in patches.S: Citrus hops that are oily and soapy. Sweet grainy malt for some balance.T: Floral and citrus hops up front that leaves a light bitterness. Some sweet caramel malt for balance.M/D: A medium body and good carbonation. Like the amber, this is very smooth and easy to drink.

Another good Choc Beer. Nothing out of the ordinary, but tasty. Another one from Choc I would recommend.

Poured 12 oz. Bottle into tulip glass. Poured a cloudy pale orange color with a off white head that had great lacing and retention. Smell is sweet, fruity. Taste sweet, little citrus, pine. Medium body. Great tasting beer from a fairly local brewery.